Silicon substrates are inherently brittle, sensitive and have to be handled with care. During and before processes they have to be stored in a manner whereby contamination does not affect the quality of the substrates. This is mainly done by utilizing FOUPs (Front Opening Unified Pods) and FOSBs (Front Opening Shipping Box). FOUPs are specialized plastic enclosures designed to hold substrates securely and safely in a controlled environment, and to allow the substrates to be transferred between machines for processing or measurement.
FOUPs inherently have the capabilities to serve a multitude of functions such as substrate storage, protection from ambient contamination, light sensitivity and provides users with an automated option. Since the semiconductor industry has shifted their focal point from 200 mm substrates to 300 mm substrates to increase chip production from a single substrate, majority of FOUP manufacturers have tailored their resources to the development of FOUPs and FOSBs solely meant for serving 300 mm substrates which is in line with a vast majority of process and metrology equipment existing in the industry.
Despite a shift in focus from 200 mm to 300 mm substrates, chipmakers phasing have not discontinued usage of 200 mm substrates. In order to further boost their production capabilities, chipmakers should be able to run multiple substrate sizes interchangeably at their convenience without costly and time consuming hardware changes thus affecting their overall throughput. As mentioned earlier, majority of the tools available are specifically meant for 300 mm substrates.
Thus, the inventors have provided an innovative solution to aid in the bridging process between a larger substrate carrier (e.g., 300 mm or 450 mm) and a smaller substrate (e.g., a 200 mm or 300 mm) in an automated manner.